Citizens Advice have published a report calling for the rollout of Universal Credit to be paused while issues leading to financial problems for claimants are fixed.

The report makes several recommendations:

Reduce how long people have to wait for their first payment

Remove the 7 waiting days at the start of a claim, to reduce the amount of time people have to wait for their first payment.

Make sure everyone moving to Universal Credit is told they can get an Advance Payment to help them while they wait for their first payment.

Improve the support available to people so they can make ends meet

Introduce an online system so people can book their initial Jobcentre appointments online rather than having to call the Universal Credit helpline.

Make the Universal Credit helpline free of charge, at least until the roll out is complete.

Allow people to adjust to Universal Credit by offering everyone options in how they would like the benefit to be paid.

Put in place a comprehensive support package before Universal Credit roll-out accelerates, to make sure people get advice to manage their money and deal with any complications in the application process.